Phil Schiller, Apple's vice president of international marketing, displays the new iPad Mini during a Tuesday event in San Jose, Calif. He said the 7.9 inch Mini is more than just a smaller version of the 9.7-inch original. less

Phil Schiller, Apple's vice president of international marketing, displays the new iPad Mini during a Tuesday event in San Jose, Calif. He said the 7.9 inch Mini is more than just a smaller version of the ... more

Photo: Kevork Djansezian

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Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, addresses the media Tuesday. Cook, who said iPads account for 91 percent of tablet web traffic, is seeking to widen Apple's lead in the tablet market.

Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple, addresses the media Tuesday. Cook, who said iPads account for 91 percent of tablet web traffic, is seeking to widen Apple's lead in the tablet market.

Photo: Noah Berger

Apple's iPad Mini isn't at a minimum price

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Proving the rumors true, Apple unveiled an iPad Mini Tuesday that, while smaller than the original, is still a bit larger and more expensive than its key competitors in the tablet computer market.

Apple's Mini retails for $329 to start - considerably more than the Google Nexus 7, which starts at $199 - and its 7.9 inch screen is slightly larger than the 7-inch screens of the Nexus, Amazon's Kindle Fire ($159) and Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note2 ($299 with two-year contract from AT&T).

Phil Schiller, Apple's vice president of international marketing, who unveiled the device during a media event in San Jose, Calif., touted the Mini as more than just a smaller version of the 9.7-inch original.

"This isn't just a shrunken down iPad," he said.

The iPad Mini runs on an A5 dual core processor and has a 1024 by 768 screen resolution like the iPad 2; it has a 1.2 megapixel camera like the new iPad with retina display.

The swiping motion, organization of apps and feel are the same as well.

The new tablet is thinner at 7.2 millimeters, weighs 0.68 pounds, about half of the weight of the iPad, and has a battery life of 10 hours.

Apple said it will start taking orders for the iPad Mini on Oct. 26 and the Wi-Fi models will start shipping Nov. 2.

With the launch of the Mini, Apple CEO Tim Cook is seeking to widen Apple's lead in the tablet market, which NPD DisplaySearch predicts will more than double to $162 billion in the next five years. By broadening the iPad lineup, Apple aims to add to its 70 percent market share just as Microsoft introduces its own device, and Google and Amazon upgrade their own handheld lines.

'Sigh of relief'

"Competitors are probably breathing a sigh of relief with $329," Chris Jones, an analyst at Canalys, said of Apple's iPad Mini price. "They are still going to sell a ton."

While a lower price point would have crushed competitors, it also would have harmed Apple's industry-leading profit margins, he said.

"That would have impacted their margins so they had to strike a balance," Jones said. "The competitors with $199 prices may still find their place in the market."

Apple has sold more than 100 million iPads since co-founder Steve Jobs introduced the device in January 2010, creating a market among consumers, businesses and schools. By adding another model at a different price, Apple is mimicking the multi-gadget strategy it used to make iPod the top-selling media player.

Despite listing impressive but unsourced statistics - Cook said iPads account for 91 percent of tablet web traffic - Apple seemed to tacitly acknowledge that Google's tablet was a legitimate competitor. Schiller made numerous comparisons between the two devices, noting the iPad has a bigger and better screen (though the device is bigger altogether).

Other devices

While the iPad Mini was the unquestioned star of the show Tuesday, it wasn't the only new gadget Apple unveiled. Schiller announced a new 13-inch Macbook Pro with high-resolution display that weighs less than 3.5 pounds; a new iMac that is 80 percent thinner and eight pounds lighter that retails for $1,299; and an updated version of the current iPad, giving it a faster chip.